Atom interferometry for extended drift times promise a major leap in improving precision and accuracy of matter-wave sensors. When taking advantage of the unique space environment for example, fundamental tests challenging the state-of-the-art can be performed using quantum gases systems.
The use of cold atoms as a source for such sensors has however stringent requirements such as the ones on sample sizes and mixture dynamics in case of dual-atomic tests. In this context, the design of the input states with well-defined initial conditions is required. In this talk, I will report about quantum state engineering protocols and experiments precisely and efficiently controlling the positions (sub-μm), velocities (100s μm/s), expansion rates (10s pK) [1] and squeezing [2] of atomic ensembles in state-of-the-art quantum gas experiments on ground and in space. The exploration of black-body radiation effects in the dynamics of such quantum ensembles will also be discussed.
References:
[1] N. Gaaloul, M. Meister, R. Corgier, A. Pichery, et al. "A space-based quantum gas laboratory at picokelvin energy scales", Nature Communications, 13:7889 (2022).
[2] R. Corgier, N. Gaaloul, A. Smerzi, and Luca Pezzè, « Delta-Kick Squeezing », Phys. Rev. Lett. 127, 183401 (2021).